John Zimmerman

Q: Can you trust datalink weather even though it’s delayed? Yes. Just because the radar picture you see on your screen is delayed by five to 15 minutes doesn’t mean it can’t be used for smart in-flight decisions. Whether it’s from a portable ADS-B re-ceiver or a panel-mount Sirius XM receiver, datalink weather can help […]

It’s about mindset more than math.

It’s important to have one whether you’re a new pilot or an experienced one.

Single-pilot IFR is the hardest thing most people will ever do. If you’re a heart surgeon, you might disagree, but for almost everyone else, there’s nothing that compares. The combination of high stakes and an unrelenting workload makes for a unique challenge, and there’s no undo button. Instrument training should embrace that challenge, with a […]

While recent advances in electric-airplane technology are exciting, the reality is that most general aviation pilots will be flying piston-engine airplanes for the foreseeable future. Even if you assume new airframes will be enthusiastically adopted by flight schools and private owners, it will take a long time to replace the 130,000 piston airplanes built in […]

I learned to fly about 25 years ago, and it’s no exaggeration to say it changed my life. I started flight training as a fairly immature teenager and ended it as a confident and independent young adult. I learned a lot about engines and weather, but much more important were the lessons on self-reliance, problem-solving […]

Continued VFR into IMC is the scourge of general ­aviation. Year after year, it is a leading cause of fatal accidents—almost four times deadlier than encounters with thunderstorms and icing combined. If anything, these numbers underestimate the problem, since many “­successful” VFR-into-IMC flights never show up in the National Transportation Safety Board statistics, but instead […]

Like a good marriage, an abiding love for aviation grows and changes over the years. The emotion is always there, but the reason for the initial attraction isn’t always the same reason you stay committed. I was fortunate to fall in love with aviation as a kid while riding around in the back of my […]

Here’s an emerging safety story that hasn’t received much attention: Fatal accidents caused by weather are declining. Nobody should be popping Champagne bottles just yet, but there is enough data to suggest a steady downward trend over the past few years. What’s the cause of this encouraging course reversal? There are probably many, but the […]

Year after year, the National Transportation Safety Board and FAA nag pilots about accidents caused by “loss of control – in flight,” which usually means a stall. The topic is well covered in training too. Dozens of questions on the subject appear on the knowledge test, and stalls are performed on the practical test and […]